Bayonne celebrates Hispanic Day Parade's 10th year as Hispanic population booms in the city

Hundreds of people carried and waved their native flags along Broadway yesterday as salsa and cumbia roared from the fleet of cars participating in the 10th Bayonne Hispanic Day Parade.

The Bayonne Hispanic Association's parade was followed by a street festival at 23rd Street.

“It’s a beautiful day for the parade,” said Abbet Hernandez, the parade’s chief organizer. “This year is extra special because it is our 10th anniversary.”

Hernandez dedicated the parade to the memory of her son Juan Supulveda-Hernandez, who was a student at Bayonne High School when he died in a car crash in Jersey City in 2001.

Gregory Malave, a Jersey City employee and Dominican native, was the grand marshal of the parade, PSE&G official Rosa Pangillo, the honorary grand marshal, and Freeholder Doreen DiDomenico, the parade’s international godmother.

According to the 2010 U.S. Census, Hispanics make up 25 percent of Bayonne’s roughly 65,000 population, a growth of 48 percent over 10 years.

The parade stepped off shortly after 1 p.m. from 5th Street and Broadway and featured among others, dancers in traditional outfits representing Ecuador, Mexico, Dominican Republic, and Cuba.

Cesar Castro and Ruben Arana, both of 21st Street, made sure their group, ‘Fuerza Mexico’ put on a flawless folkloric dance show.

“This is our second year doing this,” said Castro. “There aren’t many groups from Bayonne and we’re local.”

At 6th Street and Broadway, a family of three, including a baby boy, was decked out in leather vests.